The sower and the seed

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THE SOWER

AND THE SEED

JOHN HALL, D. D.

Presbyterian Board of Publication,
2G5 CheBtnul

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by

JAMES DUNLAP, Treas.

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania.

The Library

OF C

WASHINGTON

STEREOTYPED BY

JESPER HARDING,

57 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA.

TUSH W&WiABLE

SOWER AND THE SEED.

(3)

THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

CHAPTER I.

" HEAR YE, THEREFORE, THE PARABLE OP THE SOWER."

We have heard it : often heard it.
The people to whom our blessed Lord
first told the parable, had heard it when
he said to them, " Hear ye the parable
of the sower." But his meaning was
— hear the explanation of it : attend to
its lessons : apply it to your respective
conditions, that you may know what
reproof, or warning, or direction it has
for you. Hear and understand ! hear
1* (5)

6 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

and perceive ! hear and apply ! Look
at your hearts — at your conduct — and
judge whether your case be described
by the wayside, the stony-places, the
thorns, or the good ground.

And so the Divine voice summons
you now, whether it finds you in the
house, or by the sea-side, or in the field,
not for the first time to listen to the
parable of the Sower, but, it may be,
for the very first time in your life, to
find its application. to yourself.

And in hearing this parable, we must
be struck with the fact, that our Lord
regarded what he termed "the word
of the kingdom," to be the medium
through which " the mysteries" of that
kingdom are revealed to man. As seed

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. /

is the means of harvest, the source of
the product — as there is no grain, nor
flour, nor bread, unless the seed has
been first planted, so, our Lord teaches
us that " the word" is the first means
of causing men to hear, understand, be
converted, healed and saved. That is,
there are truths which we must know
and act upon, in order to be brought
into the kingdom of heaven. We can-
not enter it by forms and signs, by
mechanism or motion, by wishing and
consenting to enter it. We cannot enter
it as we go on a journey, or come into
a church, or do anything else, the per-
formance of which requires no know-
ledge beyond that of external things
and external means. The kingdom of

b THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

God, of Christ, of Heaven, is the do-
minion of the mind, the heart, the soul.
The body is, indeed, included in the
dominion, but its subjection follows as
a necessary result : it is not the primary
subject. Those spiritual parts require
truth to influence them. They require
knowledge to guide them. What they
need is, not an army of the kingdom,
nor a despotism of the kingdom, nor a
treasure of the kingdom, but a "word
of the kingdom."

To enter this kingdom, wmich is
spiritual, one must first of all, and above
all, know wThat is true ; true of God and
of himself; true as to what is required
of him; true as to his character before
God; true as to the extent, nature and

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. U

consequences of his offence ; true as
to the means and way of forgiveness.

It was to this last department of the
truth that the Lord was particularly
alluding when he spoke of the word of
the kingdom. His hearers had the
written revelation of the truth, so far
as the law of God was concerned.
They had Moses and the Prophets; but
Christ came to seek and to save the
lost; to open the way of peace and
grace. The word he brought was a
message of mercy, a declaration of the
way of redemption. It told the full
truth as to what must be done by as
many as wished to be saved. This
word is the gospel preached and de-
livered to us. Without it wre have no

10 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

adequate knowledge of God's righteous-
ness in justifying the ungodly, no suf-
ficient clew to the mercy-seat, no cross
and expiating sacrifice.

Yet how little is felt the responsibility
of possessing the New Testament! —
Judge by your own observation, by
your own experience, by your own
habits, how much the history of Christ,
the words of Christ, the inspired in-
structions of Apostles, are perused and
studied, examined and re-examined,
pondered and meditated, with perse-
vering diligence, with earnest prayer,
and honest sincerity, as the word of
salvation, the guide to Heaven.

" Hear ye the parable of the Sower,"
for it shows us that Christ perfectly

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 11

foresaw the reception which his word
would meet with thenceforward. TV hen
he spoke the parable, it was so early
in the career of the word of the king-
dom, that a merely human mind could
not have formed an opinion so compre-
hensive, as time has proved this predic-
tion to be, of the varieties of causes
that would prevent the acceptance of
the word. Nor could such a mind have
foreseen, so accurately, the dispropor-
tion of the hindrances to the facilities
of belief. But standing as we do this
day, eighteen hundred and more years
from that day when it wTas uttered by
the sea-shore, — contemplating Chris-
tianity as it then was, in a small boat,
so to speak, one preacher, two or three

12 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

disciples, whilst the multitude of the
hearers were practically strangers to
the truth they were listening to; and
looking along the history of the Church,
with its myriads of ministers, and their
millions of hearers, that whole history
of preaching the word presents just the
counterpart of this allegory of the
Sower. It was true to the life then,
in depicting the effects of the word in
but a few hundreds of cases — it is just
as true to the life this day in depicting
the effects of the word on the persons
who sit in the pews of our churches,
and hear the parable read from the
book. We might challenge the most
ingenious or intelligent to add a fourth
class of unfruitful hearers to the three

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 13

which Christ enumerated, as one not
included in the sowing on the wayside,
the stony places, or the thorns.

Then we ought to " hear the parable
of the Sower" with great attention and
solemnity, seeing we may do it under
the conviction that we are hearing our
individual character described by the
Son of God, infallibly, within the com-
pass of only three classes of the un-
profiting, and one class of the profited
hearers of the word of the kingdom.

It narrows the scope of the great
inquiry to very manageable limits,
when we say, our case — mine — as a
hearer of the New Testament, is either
like that of the seed sown by the way-
side, or that which fell into stony places,

14 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

or that which was received among
thorns, or that which was taken by
good ground. In other words, each
one may truly say, —

'I have heard the gospel, but the
wicked one hath catched it away from
my heart;' or, <I received it at first
with joy, but taking no root, it endur-
ed but for a while;' or, 'I heard the
word, but the care of this world and
the deceitfulness of riches choked it;'
or else, 'I heard and understood the
word, and according to my measure,
have shown some practical result.'

j£iif^

SEEDS BY THE WAY-SIDE.

(15)

CHAPTER II.

"The fowls came and devoured them up." "When
any one heareth the word op the kingdom and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked
one and catcheth away that which was sown in
his heart."

When we speak of not understand-
ing the word, it is often done by way
of excusing ourselves for want of
faith, on the ground of the obscurity
of the word. These hearers fancy

2* (17)

18 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

that if they cannot comprehend all
that is said, they are under no obliga-
tion to receive it. As if the bare word
of God, whether spoken as in times
past by the prophets, or as unto us by
his Son, and the whole embodied in
one written record, was not sufficient
to demand the belief and confidence
of men, whether understood by them,
or not !

But whatever may be the answer to
this plea, this is not the place to insist
upon it. However strong the plea
might be in other circumstances, it
could not avail the wayside recipient ;
for the "understanding" which the
Parable speaks of has no reference to
what are commonly called the difficult-

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 19

ies of gospel doctrine; or the things
confessedly " hard to be understood."
The term which our Lord used* rather
signifies that neglect of bringing to-
gether— or combining — in our minds
the truth we hear and the regard that
is due to it — the not bringing home to
ourselves what we know to be true —
which we call inattention, or overlook-
ing. No one can be justly reproached
for not comprehending matters that are
beyond his capacity ; but it is a prop-
er and usual subject of reproach, if
one fails to understand a matter in
which he has great responsibility, from
the mere neglect of putting his mind

* Mr? auvikvTos. According to Beza's translation,
" non atlendit."

20 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

into contact with the facts of the case.
It then becomes a reasonable reproof —
and it is in our Lord's own words we
find it — "why do ye not understand?"
(John viii.) " Are ye also yet without
understanding?" (Matt, xv.)

The matter for us to think of is
this. After hearing and reading the
gospel-word so long, after having the
seed sown so plentifully, why have we
not believed and obe}red it? Why
have we not yet learned the lesson,
and performed the duty, and conform-
ed to the whole truth as thus distinct-
ly set before us ? The explanation of
the Divine Teacher will not permit us
to say, it is all the fault of the wicked
one who came and caught away that

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 21

which was sown ; for, according to our
Lord's words, it is not until one has
heard and failed to understand, that
the evil agency from without is exer-
cised. "When any one heareth the
word of the kingdom, and understand-
eth it not, then cometh the wTicked
one, and catcheth away that which
was sown in his heart." When the
hearers of the word disregard wdiat
they hear, so as not to make it the
subject of investigation, they practi-
cally reject it; they leave it unappre-
ciated; it is left exposed, like seed on
the wayside, so that any bird may
pick it up.

Is it any wonder that they whose
eyes are shut, do not see ? Is it any

22 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

wonder that they who do not listen,
do not hear? And if this is the natur-
al effect of what may be called unin-
tentional inattention, mere carelessness
and want of thought, is it not likely
to take place still more seriously and
permanently, when the inattention, the
neglect of the means of understanding,
is wilful and deliberate? It was this
obstinacy of purpose in keeping the
truth from the mind, that our Lord
exposed in all its peril, when he said
in the same discourse with the Parable
of the Sower, "this people's heart is
waxed gross, and their ears are dull
of hearing, and their eyes they have
closed; lest at any time they should
see with their eyes, and hear with

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 23

their ears, and should understand with
their heart, and should be converted,
and I should heal them."

The moral condition of the disciples
was different — " Blessed are your eyes,
for they see : and your ears, for they
hear. . . Hear ye therefore the parable
of the sower."

This is where this point of the par-
able comes home, or ought to come
home to the conscience of many an
habitual receiver of the word. When
you receive it, you leave it as you find
it. You read or hear it, and are done
with it. You do not seize it as a treas-
ure, and bury it in your heart, and
protect it, and watch against losing it.
You take no pains to " understand" it :

24 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

no such pains as when you receive a
document in your profession, a letter
in your trade, a book in your studies,
the use and value of which consist in
your mastering it, and turning its con-
tents to your own personal account.
It is " then" — " then" — upon this neg-
lect— upon this slothful, unapplying,
superficial use of the word, that the
wicked one takes it clean away. The
great pilferer steals only what you left
exposed. You invited him. You
tempted the tempter. Lay not the
blame on him. Do not suppose that
you can excuse yourself for the loss,
when, knowing that he. was all about,
you threw open your doors, and let
him see your treasures, and went

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. Zo

yourself to sleep. Or, to come nearer to
the figure of the parable, do not abuse
the fowls for the loss of your harvest,
if instead of sowing the seed in the
fit place, and with fit care, you throw
it about the streets, or scatter it about
the highway made to be trodden by
man and beast.

That may well be called a mere
wayside, or by-the-way receiving of
the word, which consists in a passing,
incidental, occasional catching of re-
ligious doctrine. Many persons go to
church, or take up the Bible, in a
manner that may be described as an
intentional keeping of themselves aside
from the reach of the truth. They
are like the crowd which lines the

26 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

streets when a procession is in pro-
gress, or which fills the galleries at a
public festival; spectators, but not
partakers; they come to see, not to
share. These expect the word to take
effect on them. They see how it
suits others. They may rejoice in
the conversion of others. But if any
thing fall near them ; if a single stroke
of truth seem to touch their own consci-
ences for a moment, it is, as it were, side-
ways, unexpected, and soon shaken off,
as if they had, by accident, got pos-
session of what was intended for some
other person. " Then cometh the wick-
ed one."

There must be a great deal in the
intention which we have in putting

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 27

ourselves in the way of the word. If
we go where we know we shall hear it?
or take the sacred book into our hands
to peruse it, and actually intend to be
profited, positively give our minds to
it. as when an industrious scholar goes
to the lecture, or to the study at his
own table, purposely to understand,
remember and practice, then it will be
strange and unaccountable if we re-
ceive no good impression. But if we
have no intention no fixed purpose, no
definite object, in the use of the di-
vine word, — if there is no making up
of the mind to attend to and lay to
heart what shall be submitted to us in
the name of the Most High and the
Most Gracious, then it will be strange

28 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

and unaccountable, on any natural hy-
pothesis, if we receive any more than
snch wayside fragments as may be
caught away by the next volatile
thought, or thrown away by the least
resistance. In either case the seed is
utterly gone. "The fowls came and
devoured them up." "When they
have heard, Satan cometh immediately,
and taketh away the word that was
sown in their hearts." " Then cometh
the Devil, and taketh away the word
out of their hearts, lest they should
believe and be saved."

With these explanations it is easy
to comprehend our Lord's meaning
when he said, in applying a passage
of prophecy, "they seeing see not,

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 29

and hearing they hear not; neither do
they understand." Nor is it any more
difficult to perceive why the reception
of holy truth is ineffectual in these
cases, than it is to account for the
loss of any other kind of truth, when
it is received only with the. external
senses, and is not brought into use.
There is this greater difficulty, indeed,
in the word of the kingdom, that it is
a spiritual, as well as intellectual use
of it that is required. It is directed
to the state of the heart, the turning
of the soul, a radical change, an eter-
nal result. But yet all these results
are, in the plan of divine grace, as
closely connected with a sincere use
of the means, as any other kind of

3*

30 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

results with their established means.
"As a man soweth, so shall he reap."

The great caution to be given to
such as complain that good impressions
are so soon effaced — that the word is
so soon caught from their hearts — is
this: — make no delay in improving
what you receive ; cover the good seed
by prayer, and forsaking of temptation,
and committing yourself to Christ,
before the adversary can have the
opportunity of your carelessness to
snatch away the precious deposit.
These impressions may be slight; they
may seem superficial; but they may
be cherished into strength and perform-
ance. The seed first falls on the sur-
face;'a puff of wind seems strong

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 31

enough to blow it away; but a little
diligence and wisdom may secure it
beyond the power of any tempest to
disturb its rest, before it has fixed its
root in the mould.

You sometimes are caught with a
view of divine truth which fixes your
attention for a moment; which excites
some alarm, or awakens some good
desire, and }'ou think that nothing
permanent will result because the im-
pression is so light. You think that
if the time for your awakening had,
indeed, come, the impression would be
stronger and continuous. But why is
it not stronger and continuous? Be-
cause you are so slow in improving it,
that it perishes of neglect. You per-

32 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

mit the birds to devour the seed before
your eyes, and do nothing to "fray
them away." You defer action till
to-morrow, and by to-morrow there is
nothing to act upon. You are not
content with the amount or duration
of the first impression, and so throw it
all away. As if the mustard-seed
could not become a tree! As if the
drop of leaven could n6t swell the
loaf! HowT many times has the pro-
cess been gone through in your case?
Perhaps the whole history of your
attendance on the public and private
means of grace may be summed up as
a hearing and forgetting, a series of
convictions of what you ought to do
and of postponements of the doing of

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 66

it. In this case your whole religious
character may be written in this line- —
oh! let it not be your epitaph — "this
is he which received seed by the ivay-
side /"

There are some few persons who
appear to be so habitually inattentive,
so recklessly trifling, that we may sus-
pect whether they ever feel a word of
the truth, or stop a moment, in their
flight of folly, to remember that there
is a God, or that they have souls.
But the greater part, at least of church-
attendants, do certainly receive from
the word itself, or from the acts of
Providence, or the suggestions of their
own fears or thoughts, some intima-
tions of danger to be escaped, duties

Oi THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

to be regarded, truth to be believed,
changes to be prepared for. If not in
the exact sense of the parable, yet
these too are wayside impressions;
they touch us as we pass through the
experiences of life, and feel that we
are making our wray towards great
changes before us.

Again you are asked — yon, read-
er!— what has become of these im-
pressions ? What has been their end ?
How do you now treat them? How
do you intend to dispose of such as
may have been made upon you, as you
have turned these leaves, and as your
conscience has been compelled to cry
truth ! truth ! to many a line ? What
a flock of mischievous agencies hover

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 35

this moment around you waiting to
catch even this poor seed, before it
rests long enough to produce any good
effect ! What little birds they are that
do this ! How trifling the causes which
can prevent the word of the kingdom
from being heard and understood ? Not
eagles, or vultures, or ravenous fowl
pick up the seed. They would give
the alarm by their very size and fierce-
ness and clamor; they would despise
the seed, and seek their prey in anoth-
er shape. But it is the merest spar-
rows, the veriest humming-birds, that
play around us, and while amusing us
with their plumage, and motions, and
chirping, catch away that which is
sown, from the heart. It is your busi-

36 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

ness that does it; your love of the
world; your sensibility to pleasure;
your facility in changing the subjects
of your thoughts; your neglect of
mental discipline; it is this and that
trifling temptation, or glittering scheme,
or gay imagination; it is some foolish
pride, or gaudy vanity; some paltry
fear, or cowardly shame, or unmanly
timidity. In some shape or other,
probably in many shapes, such things
are stealing away the most precious
gifts, the most sacred deposits that
your heart can receive. "Hear ye
therefore the parable of the Sower,"
and remember that what seems so
innocent, so insignificant, or so fasci-
nating, is the agency of the most fear-

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. d /

ful adversary of your soul: for the
infallible interpreter of the allegory of
the fowls that came and devoured the
wayside seed has said, as he pointed
to them, "then cometh the Devil, and
taketh away the word out of their
hearts, lest they should believe and be
saved."

It may be that some of our readers
have already lost the benefit of the
Lord's admonition, \>y supposing that it
has no reference to them. They may
have thought with complacency that
they have often both heard and under-
stood the word, rejoiced in it, and obeyed
it. They have heard the call of Christ
and become his disciples.

All this may be so, and yet a little

4

38 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

reflection may convince them that the
WOrd — much of it at least — is snatched
from them before it reaches the heart.
This is the case with those who hear
the word, but do not keep it; who re-
ceive the truth, but do not conform to
it ; who profess faith, but live without
good works, saying, "Lord, Lord," but
not doiDg the commandments of the
Lord.

Surely the word of the kingdom
ought to be precious to the subjects of
the kingdom. "Hear ye, therefore,
the parable of the Sower." It is well
for Christians to ask themselves how
much of the good seed falls by the
wayside as to them; how often it is
devoured before they have turned it to

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 39

account; in plain words, what effect
of the New Testament precepts and
doctrines is discernible in the lives of
Christians compared with the amount
of instruction they obtain from it.
Every page of the Scripture is given
to them, as well as to others, for doc-
trine, reproof, correction, instruction
in righteousness, for it is given "that
the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good
works." (1 Tim. iii.) No one's piet}r
ever outgrows the necessity for the
milk and meat of the word. Believers
are exposed to the same interruptions
and hindrances as others, in their use
of the truth; but it is expected of
them to show greater diligence in

40 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

avoiding and overcoming them. They
are supposed to have more dread of
the wicked one, and to be more watch-
ful. Yet how successful is he in
catching away the word that should be
feeding, strengthening, comforting, di-
recting them ! They often feel convict-
ed of delinquency in duty, negligence
in their life, omission or unprofitable
use of the means of grace, declining
zeal, cooling devotion, religion degen-
erating into formalism. Then they
have a sense of clanger and of shame;
they think they will do better; they
will mend this fault and begin this
duty, and give themselves wTith new
vigor to the life of godliness and the
minding of the things of the Spirit;

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 41

but the week, the month, the quarter,
the year rolls round, and the improve-
ment does not take place. Between
the sowing of the seed and the time
for the harvest something interposed
and destroyed the good result as effect-
ually as if it had devoured the seed.

Communion-seasons abound in these
disappointments. As they approach,
communicants cannot help remember-
ing their peculiar obligations; they
look back to their first profession,
their early diligence, seriousness and
conscientiousness; how they appreciat-
ed the opportunities of worship, when
perhaps the ordinary services of their
church were not frequent enough to
satisfy them. It was the word — the

42 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

word of the kingdom, that was then so
precious to them, and that impelled
them to good works, and to seek the
abundance of the fruits of the Spirit.
They have the same word yet — they
have been receiving it all the time, but
it is all sowing and no reaping. In
grace, as in husbandry, there is not
one seed-time and one harvest for a
field ; or are seed-time and a perpetual
succession of harvests, without a re-
petition of the sowing. In this field
neither the planting nor fruitfulness is
periodical. They should be concurrent
and constant. But from the fault of
regarding them as periodical, there is
often a revival of diligence in devotion,
and in the use of the public means, as

THE SOAVER AND THE SEED. 4d

sacred seasons come round — serious
impressions and pungent self-reproaches
at the Lord's table — but when the
special season has passed, the impres-
sions pass with it. The seed was
caught away as soon as it touched the
soil. And why ? Because it was for-
gotten; because the hearing and the
feeling were taken for the fruit-time,
instead of the seed — time ; because they
who received the word, did not hear
and understand.

Let our little catechism give the
practical lesson of these considera-
tions : — " How is the word to be read
and heard that it may become effec-
tual to salvation?

" That the word may become effectual

44 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

to salvation, we must attend there-
unto with diligence, preparation and
prayer; receive it with faith and love;
lay it up in our hearts, and practise it
in our lives."

THE ^PJkmikBhW*

SEED ON STONY PLACES.

(45)

CHAPTER III.

" Some fell upon stony places, [Mark has " stony
ground:" Luke "a rock;"] where they had not
much earth; and forthwith they sprung up, be-
cause THEY HAD NO DEEPNESS OF EARTH J AND WHEN
THE SUN WAS UP, THEY WERE SCORCHED; AND BECAUSE
THEY HAD NO ROOT, THEY WITHERED AWAY." " AS
SOON AS IT WAS SPRUNG UP, IT WITHERED AWAY, BE-
CAUSE IT LACKED MOISTURE."

" HE THAT RECEIVED THE SEED INTO STONY PLACES
THE SAME IS HE THAT HEARETH THE WORD, AND ANON
[AT ONCE] WITH JOY RECEIVETH IT ,* YET HATH HE NOT
ROOT IN HIMSELF, BUT DURETH FOR A WHILE : FOR
WHEN TRIBULATION OR PERSECUTION ARISETH BECAUSE
OF THE WORD, BY AND BY HE IS OFFENDED." "THESE
HAVE NO ROOT, WHICH FOR A WHILE BELIEVE, AND IN
TIME OF TEMPTATION FALL AWAY."

(47)

48 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

Seed that drops where the soil is
filled with stones, or wmere the soil is
but the shallow covering of a solid
rock, will spring up all the more quick-
ly for the small quantity of earth. It
has the shorter space through which to
work its way; the lighter mass to
oppose its puny struggles. It has a
quick development. It has the start
of what is sown in the deep furrow.
But then it comes out feeble, slender,
unable to bear the light and heat it
encounters. It grows so easily upward,
that it needs no root downward, to
give it support, and wThen it appears
above the surface, it has nothing to
hold it in the wind, or to furnish nour-
ishment to its stalk. Both from the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 49

shallowness of the mould, and the
absence of root, it gains no moisture,
and soon withers away.

To this law of the nature of vegeta-
tion there is an analogous law in the
nature of the mind. Superficial know-
ledge is weak and transitory. It is
their shallowness that makes the mul-
titude of the credulous, and the self-
conceited. They look only at the
outside of things : cultivate only the
surface. They have little knowledge;
they come quickly to their conclu-
sions; they act upon first impressions.
Their horizon is of the narrowest com-
pass, yet they imagine that nothing is
hid from them. They endure but for a
while. When their wisdom is fairly put

50 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

to the test; when some emergency
calls for their whole strength, they
are soon scorched, and fall into insig-
nificance.

So it may be with religious know-
ledge. We see one. perhaps a mere
youth, taking up the Holy Scriptures,
or the system of doctrines which the
best and wisest of men have laborious-
ly framed from the Scripture, and
having himself the scantiest acquaint-
ance with the holy volume, and the
smallest capacity to apprehend the
great outline of inspired theology, he is
still self-confident and self-sufficient.
He speaks of divine truth as if no one
could teach him, and as if his own
opinions could not be wrong and must

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 51

not be questioned. He demands that
the Scripture itself shall be interpreted
by his own standard of justice and
truth, and will perhaps threaten to
discard revelation, if it should teach
otherwise.

Now here is the seed; here is the
word ; it is revelation that is the sub-
ject of knowledge; but here is "not
much earth/' "no deepness of earth,"
"no root/' "it lacks moisture." There
is hard rock under the shallow soil;
there is but a handful of earth among
the stones where the seed fell. The
result is often as apparent as the
scorching of the precocious blade of
grain. The first faith withers away.
The mind, not being established in the

52 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

truth, suffering its opinions to push
themselves forth without any proper
substratum of truth to hold them and
nourish them, is drawn in every direc-
tion from that which is right, and at
every turn becomes more crooked and
more weak. Every new theory di-
verts it; every dream of folly or su-
perstition perplexes it; it goes from
error to error; becomes wiser and
wiser in its own conceit; soars higher
and higher above what is written; by
and by becomes offended at all estab-
lished and tried doctrine, and its faith
withers away into some miserable de-
lusion, or into vacant unbelief.

It is in the stony places that most
heresies start up ; it is from those who

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. Od

once received the word with joy, and
whose religion, such as it was, "forth-
with" sprang up into imaginary matu-
rity and independence, that the great
accessions are drawn to error, fanati-
cism, and infidelity.

Religious impressions are often re-
ceived as suddenly, and the mind
converted as unexpectedly as in the
instance of Saul of Tarsus. The seed
may be received into a shallow soil,
and the soil may afterwards accumu-
late so as to furnish nutriment and
protection to the grain till it shall have
attained some growth. But often, too,
there are received sudden and transi-
ent impressions of a religious kind,
which really have no connection with

5*

54 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

the word of the kingdom, and which
perish in the same night in which they
show themselves.

One sees a company of worshippers
in a state of strong excitement. Their
looks, gestures, outcries, create a scene
of animation, which has a contagious
effect, especially with weak and unre-
flecting minds. A spectator may be-
come strongly affected through the
mere suceptibility of his nervous tem-
perament, and without hearing or
thinking of any fact or doctrine of a
religious nature, to which he could
point as producing the excitement in
himself.

Or, on the other hand, there may be
a scriptural statement uttered, — some

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 55

word of the kingdom — which gives
the start to the sudden alarm, or the
luxurious ecstacy, or the excited imag-
ination. The "joy" and " gladness"
with which these impressions are
so "immediately" received, seem to
promise great results; They are some-
times taken as the supernatural, and
therefore, most certain evidences of
conversion, rendering superfluous any
further trial of its reality. But what
is frequently the result ? Is it not like
the rush without mire, the flag with-
out water, which whilst in its green-
ness withereth before any other herb?
(Job viii.) And what is the evident
cause? What but this — that there
was only the feeling, the excitement,

56 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

the sympathy? "Anon with joy" the
word was received, but the cause of
joy was not known; there was in fact
no cause for it. It was a transport
without reason. How could it last ?
Anon with indifference it expired. If
it had proceeded- from a view of the
divine attributes as shown in the
word; or from a view of the divine
righteousness in the method of just-
ification; or from the consciousness
of a new principle of spiritual life,
exercising an actual power over the
heart and its issues, there would have
been a cause for intelligent joy, —
though, perhaps, not of a description
that would exhibit itself in the form
of bodily excitement. But if the ex-

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 57

perience were only superficial, and
without the groundwork of an intelli-
gent and sincere reception of the word
itself, there was no root; not much
earth ; it lacked moisture ; it withered
and disappeared.

Or, again, the most tranquil regard
may be given to the word. It may be
so emotionless as to be stoical. The
most unimpassioned assent may be
given to the truth, and yet the holy
seed may be said to lie among the
stones, or on the rock, because the
heart is not opened to it. It falls only
on the mind — is received only by the
understanding. As in the case just
supposed, there was all feeling and no
knowledge, so here all is knowledge

58 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

and no feeling. There is an admission
of guilt, but no such shame as will not
lift up its eyes to heaven, and only cry,
"God he merciful to me a sinner!"
There is no such abasement as ex-
claims, "I abhor myself, and repent in
dust and ashes :" " mine iniquities are
gone over mine head ; as a heavy bur-
den, they are too heavy forme:" "I
am ashamed and blush to lift up my
face to thee, my God: for our iniqui-
ties are increased over our head, and
our trespass is grown up into the
heavens."

There are many suns to scorch and
wither such soil as this. " Tribulation
or persecution because of the word"
will do it. When men find they must

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 59

suffer on account of their religion,
they often show how rootless their
faith was. The stake has made many
martyrs, but also many apostates. And
not only the stake. The dread of any
loss as a consequence of faith, is some-
times enough to blast the sprouting of
the good seed. Persons are persuaded
of the truth; there is soil enough
among the stones for that; but when
they begin to reflect that a life con-
formed to the truth will cut them off,
here and there, from what they love
more than the truth; that sacrifices
must be submitted to; self-denials en-
dured; reproach, or ridicule, or sus-
picion encountered; the very appre-
hension of such incidents prevents

60 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

their committing themselves to what
they know to be true; or having
committed themselves, the fire is too
hot for them, and while they are
shifting hither and thither to escape
it, their religion withers away. u De-
mas hath forsaken me; having loved
this present world." The hot sun of
covetousness withered the religion of
Ananias, Sapphira, Judas. Prosperity
is sometimes a more searching fire
than persecution, in the trial of faith.
A religion that started up suddenly,
in a season of affliction, in a moment
of alarm, and which was not cultivated
afterwards, will show its want of
depth and root by gradually dwind-

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 61

ling into negligence and indifference,
till it finally vanishes from sight.

What one of the Evangelists calls
the " time of temptation," when many
" fall away," comprehends a large class
of the occasions that witness the
perishing of good impressions: — the
temptations of pleasure and the weak-
ness of the principle of self-restraint;
the temptations of a formal religion,
and the weakness of the understand-
ing of what is spiritual; the tempta-
tions of self-righteousness, leading to
the forgetfulness of the necessity of
being " rooted and grounded in Christ ;"
the temptations of false doctrines,
causing a false hope that the grace of
God will dispense with good works, if

6

62 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

there be an outward show of religion,
or causing the delusion that, there being
no danger of falling from grace, there
is no necessity for watchfulness; — or
either side of this error, viz : that if
one act well, it is not important what
he believes, or if he believe correctly,
he may act as he pleases.

It must be observed that these
temptations may implicate the stand-
ing of professed Christians as well as
of others. Indeed the stony places
where the seed was sown, do not
originally represent unbelievers at all.
It is they who receive the word, and
even joyfully at first, who alone are
described. They are advanced a stage
beyond those from whom Satan caught

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 63

the word, before it germinated at
all — the wayside seed. Let new con-
fessors of Christ take notice of this.
There is seldom much deepness of
earth when the word first takes effect.
The little that there is, is apt to pass
for a great deal. Too much confidence
is placed in the mere profession, as an
evidence of grace, or as the accom-
plishment of the work of faith. It
would be better to consider attendance
on the ordinances as means of cultiva-
tion rather than the harvest ; as more
like planting than gathering. It would
be better for all of us to be looking to
ourselves that our shallow knowledge,
superficial experience, and feeble be-
ginnings of every kind may be growing

64 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

more full and complete. We should
be extremely watchful to hold fast
what we have., that it may not barely
be preserved from extinction before it
produces anything, but that it may
be secured and established so that it
shall bring forth much fruit and con-
stantly. Our principles must be made
stronger; our practical acquaintance
with the truth more thorough and
active. We must know wThy we be-
lieve and what we believe, and feel
that we do believe, and that this be-
lieving works itself into our actions
day by day and all day, and is
strengthening, directing and marking
our character. This is the only means
of becoming so rooted in faith, that

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 65

the winds of error shall not prostrate
it, the billows of doubt make it wav-
er, nor the fire of temptation scorch
and wither it. (Ephes. iv. James i.
Matt, xiii.)

Let church members, whether their
connection be recent or old, beware of
the stony places, the stony ground,
the rock. Do not be diverted from
admitting the necessity of scrutinizing
your condition by the occasional — or
even habitual joy, with which you
receive the word. You may find your
emotions affected by the incidents of
public worship. The hymn, or the
prayer, or the sacrament, or the word
may excite, now your feelings of
happiness, noav of tenderness. You

66 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

may weep, you may feel yourselves
elated above the flesh and the earth.
You may think within yourselves, " this
is heaven/' or, "now I am indeed sen-
sible that I am a Christian." But how
is it "by and by?" How is it when
the moving cause, so far as the outward
cause is concerned, ceases to act? —
when the service is over, when the
sympathetic chords lose their tension,
when you breathe the fresh air, and
tread again the common walks of life ?
How is it "by and by," when you are
at home, when you are the father, the
merchant, the landlord, the politician?
How is it when the temptation to an
old sin recurs; when an opportunity
of benevolence offers itself; when the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 67

poor ask your assistance, or the em-
barrassed your forbearance ; when you
may perpetrate a secret meanness, or
perform a secret charity? Is it heaven
then ? Is it tears of joy and celestial
emotion, in view of your divine rela-
tionship, and of the practical strength
you find imparted in the hour of temp-
tation to evil, or opportunity for good,
that fill your eyes then? Do you
under these common-place circumstan-
ces feel and act as you did in the wor-
ship or at the communion-table, or as
you then thought you would feel and
act under such circumstances? "By
and by he is offended," said our Lord,
in his interpretation of this part of the
parable. Something takes place which

68 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

causes him who received the word with
gladness to stumble at that very word ;
to wish it were not what it is ; to wish
he could avoid its requirements, modify
its strictness, or evade its authority.
"He hath not root in himself, but
dureth for a while." Oh ! the stones,
the stones ! that cover the ground, and
shut out the proper influence of the
sunshine, and the moisture, and only
allow the seed to attain such a puny
existence that it hardly begins to
put forth the blade, before the very
power which should have given it
growth and strength and maturity,
burns it up.

" For a while they believe." How
strange and unreasonable! What is

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 69

true in the objects of faith is always
true, and always to be believed. The
truth of Grod and the duty of man do
not vary with the seasons, they are
not affected by the changing moods of
the human mind. Religion is not one
thing in church, and at the sacrament,
and on the Lord's day, and another
thing everywhere else. The soul's
value, and the soul's danger, and the
soul's hope do not rise and fall with
the feelings. Your interests, your jeo-
pardy, your accountability, are just
the same this moment when you are
at ease on these points so that no
words move you, as they were the
other day when you were so anxious,
so full of seriousness, so absorbed in

70 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

the sense of danger, that whichever
way you turned you could behold noth-
ing else. You need the means of grace,
the Bible, private prayer and public
prayer, just as much this week when
you are letting every thing hinder
your use of them, or are using them
as cold formalities, as in that week
when you had resolved to make a
public profession, or the week after
you had made it, when you felt that
you would be acting inconsistently if
}rou were not employing all these op-
portunities, nay, when you could not
be comfortable or feel safe, without
using them.

"For a while they believe, and in
time of temptation, fall away ;" — there

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 71

is the secret of it. They ceased to
believe as they did at first, not be-
cause there was less reason to be-
lieve, but because, through temptation,
they fell away from their belief : they
ceased to act according to what they
believed.

" Hear ye, therefore, the parable of
the Sower :" understand it : apply it.
Does it reveal the canker of your
short-lived piety ? Does it remind you
of what you once felt, and show how
you lost the impressions? Does it
disclose the cause of your present
deficiency, of the stunting of wThat
once promised a vigorous growth, the
decaying of what once indicated strong
vitality? If you find it to be so with

72 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

you, or fear that it is so, and all reli-
gious sentiment and conviction be not
quite withered, make immediate exer-
tion to obtain the radical amendment
which you see to be necessary. In the
kingdom of grace the worst disadvan-
tages may be overcome; what seemed
to be the most hopeless condition for
an}^ wholesome result, may be reclaim-
ed. There is nothing — not even the
conversion of a faithless and deceived
heart — too hard for the Lord. Is
yours that heart? Does the rock ap-
pear to underlie the thin surface of
your religious dispositions, and the
stones to crowd it above, while the
fierce heat of temptation burns around,
as if awaiting the first appearance of

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 73

the tender shoot to scorch it up ? Then
it was for you this part of the parable
was given ; to warn you; to put you
on your guard; to set you to using
the means of preventing the fatal re-
sult. What you have to do is to go
to Christ with your hard heart, your
inattentive, unsettled mind, your vari-
able feelings, your shallow religion,
your easuy-offended prejudices, and
with tears of confession, wTith unquali-
fied submission, with infant-like docil-
ity, writh a decided, and if necessary
violent correcting of all your known
inconsistencies, trust in omnipotent
grace to effect the great conversion
which you need.

TIHE US IP Jl M iL IB 3L 21

SEED AMONG THORNS.

(75)

CHAPTER IV.

« Some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang

UP WITH IT AND CHOKED IT, AND IT YIELDED NO

FRUIT."

« HE THAT RECETVED SEED AMONG THE THORNS 19 HH
THAT HEARETH THE WORD, AND THE CARE OF THIS
WORLD, AND THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES, AND THE
LUSTS OF OTHER THINGS ENTERING IN, CHOKE THE
WORD, AND HE BECOMETH UNFRUITFUL." " THAT WHICH
FELL AMONG THORNS ARE THEY WHICH WHEN THEY
HAVE HEARD GO FORTH, AND ARE CHOKED WITH CARES,
AND RICHES, AND PLEASURES OF THIS LIFE, AND BRING
NO FRUIT TO PERFECTION."

(76)

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 77

The different terms used in this
explanation of the parable may be
represented in that single one "this
life." It is the antagonism of this
life to the other life, of this world to
that world, the unfriendliness of the
trifling things now about us to the
great interests of an eternal destiny,
it is this which every one knows to be
one of the chief hindrances to the
rise and progress of religion in the
soul.

The manner in which the things of
"this life" accomplish their unfriendly
end, is most graphically portrayed in
the expression used by the heavenly
Teacher. They do not "tread down"
or "devour" the seed, as in the way-

/ 5 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

side sowing; nor "scorch" and "wither"
it, as it begins to appear in the stony
places which had not much earth ; but
the thorns of the world grow up with
the good seed and choice it, so that
there is no fruit.

How exactly this comparison re-
presents the process, may be better seen
by a few examples, made the more
personal by taking the form of a direct
address.

For instance : — You heard the word
of the kingdom in the nursery, in the
school, from the Bible, from one cate-
chism after another, from parents and
teachers, from your pastor and his
assistants, from the juvenile books of
a religious kind which were the chief

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 79

reading of your youth. Thus the
early seed was scattered and received.
Religion was to a certain extent, incor-
porated with your daily habits. You
talked of the Bible, of sin, of heaven,
of the righteous and the wicked, of God
and the Saviour, as realities, and as
if you thought that every one else
was as familiar with them, and had
the same childlike faith in them as
yourself.

Then you " went forth" — forth from
the childish age and its associations,
its simplicities and comparative harm-
lessness. You took your place in an
older rank. You passed to a school,
perhaps a boarding-school, or college.
You found older associates, new phases

80 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

of life, customs different from, and some
of them in strong contrast with those of
your own training. With each step of
this going forth and gro wing-up, your
religious character was changing. In pu fe-
ting away other childish things, your
Christian childhood began to pass into
what was considered a more advanced
condition. You heard the same word as
before, but your faith was not so direct
and unquestioning as it used to be.
You did not treat the Scripture and
its subjects with the simplicity and
openness you formerly did. Prayer
became a more formal act. It was
sometimes suspended. You found your-
self ashamed or afraid to pray. Your
new company, and higher grade of

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 81

reading, and new subjects of imagina-
tion, and engrossing studies insensibly
weakened the eifect of former impres-
sions, and now, God, heaven, sin, the
Saviour, the distinction of righteous
and wicked, and the solemnity of
religious observances, though far from
being obliterated, had become more
dim, less prominent, actual and abiding
objects.

Surely it may be said of such a
course that the seed was choked;
choked by the first growth of those
new cares of this life, which, though
comparatively slight, are still the begin-
ning of its THORNS.

But you came to another stage. Man-
hood succeeded the youthful period.

82 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

Now came business, filling the day
with its occupations, and the night
with dreams. Now came professional
and political ambition. Now you were
men ; and you must be busy men, full
of work and of schemes. You had your
own affairs, the concerns of others,
perhaps some public cares to divide
your thoughts and fill your time. And
how was it with the Bible, and cate-
chism, and the Sabbath, and the bedside
prayer now? They were not discard-
ed; they are not doubted; but wTas
their influence growing with your
growth? If it had been but seed, little
seed, once, was the fruit advancing?
If the days of the childlike bud and
youthful flower had gone by, was the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 83

mature tree taking their place? Ah
no! The further you advanced from
that earlier period, the wider became
the separation between your thoughts
and your habits, and the truth — the
word of the kingdom, at first so iden-
tified with both. You became too busy,
too full of other things. Those other
things were close at hand. They were
visible and tangible; they were de-
manding or alluring your constant atten-
tion. They were powerful, and conspi-
cuous and progressive, compared with
the simple religious things of childhood,
which began to appear to you in the
light of faded, obsolete things. Are
not the causes of such a result well
named thorns* choking the word, and

84 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

if not absolutely killing it, making it
unfruitful ?

Or the cares of this life came in
another shape. You had become the
head of a family. A world of new
"cares" opened upon you as a hus-
band, wife, father, mother. You had
to run a daily career of employments,
and perplexities. The duties arising
from your children's education, train-
ing, subsistence, preparation for future
life, pressed upon you. The cares
arising from sickness, restricted means,
reverses of fortune, brought a new
variety of distractions to your mind.
The common burdens of the head of
a household necessarily require much
time and thought. Even to the mother

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. bo

of a family how often may the words of
the Lord Jesus be applied, as express-
ing an unavoidable burden, "Martha,
Martha, thou art careful and troubled
about many things!" But, after all,
they are things of "this life," and
what is their effect on the things of
the other life ? Do you not say that
your domestic cares give you no time
to pursue the bent of the religious
training which you enjoyed at a more
favorable season? Do you not com-
plain that the troubles of your lot so
perplex and weigh upon your mind,
that you can think of nothing else ?
Do you not make excuses, out of your
circumstances — your being cumbered
with much serving — for the neglect of

86 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

the "one thing needful?" (Luke x.)
And has not the consequence been
that you have grown, both into disuse
of, and indifference to religious duties
once held to be indispensable? Is it
not easy now to make, and yield to
slight reasons for omitting what, in
other times, you would not have dared
to omit, or for doing what you once
would have shrunk from? Oh then
see how plainly you are written among
those who, when they have heard, go
forth, and are choked with cares of
this life, and bring no fruit to per-
fection.

Connect this thought with those that
are thus suggested : — you were trained
by a kind Providence in the time of

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 87

freedom from care for the time when
you would have fewer and less favour-
able opportunities. You were trained
in childhood, in the nursery and school,
for the headship of your own family,
with all its trials and responsibilities.
That was the seed-time. Now is the
time for showing the good results.
Now the good seed of the word should
be flourishing in its thirty -fold, sixty-
fold, hundred-fold blessings ; guiding,
supporting, comforting you with its
teachings, and ripening your piety
under all its trials, and so overcom-
ing— outgrowing — the thorns which
cannot be eradicated. "I would have
you without carefulness," says the
inspired writer, when dwelling on the

88 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

exposure of domestic life to those
occupations and motives which are so
likely to make the heart selfish, and
the mind forgetful of higher ties. (1
Cor. vii. 32.) "Hear the parable of
the Sower;" and judge whether there
is any mystery in the gradual dis-
appearance of religious impresskms,
when, instead of being encouraged
and confirmed in early life, those who
have received them "go forth" into
the exposures and the conflicts of even
the common cares of this life, and en-
counter every successive obstacle with
diminished strength. "The thorns
sprang up with it, and choked it."

And some are "choked with riches."
You were once poor, or in moderate

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 89

circumstance as to worldly wealth.

In your humble home, or retired pew,

you first received the word. Your

temporal condition was favourable to

its effect. You had not luxury to

pamper you, no room for vanity, no

social position to make you a mark for

the snares of the worldly. But with

time came riches. Now you possess

it; or whatever you may term it now,

it is what in those humbler days you

regarded as riches. The change may

seem to have strewn your path with

flowers, to have surrounded you with

the means of enjoyment, to have made

your advancing years the harvest of

your life. But what has been the

effect of the change on the growth of
8*

90 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

the word? Has it nurtured, strength-
ened and ripened your religious know-
ledge and religious character, so that all
the world is as ready to bear witness
to your piety as to your wealth? Have
all your gains been made conscien-
tiously, so that "fraud" or " oppression"
or "extortion" or " uncharitableness"
cannot be justly written over the
smallest heap of your coin? Are you
humble and devout in reference to
the very fact of your having this
stewardship, lest the rust should be
witness against you? Have your
riches so ministered to your worldli-
ness as to be cankers to your piety ?
Has your zeal to be rich caused you
" to fall into temptation and a snare,

9

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 91

and into many foolish and hurtful lusts
which drown men in destruction and
perdition?" (1 Tim. vi.) Has your use
of riches clearly indicated that you
had labelled all your resources " holi-
ness unto the Lord ?" Or do you
grudge the gift to God, to his king-
dom, to Christ in his poorest disciple ?
Or is the gift so paltry, that you
would be considered mean if you
bestowed no more in the mere super-
fluities of living? Look candidly at
your possessions and your religion,
and see whether they have been an-
tagonists; whether they divide your
heart; whether God or Mammon has
the ascendency; whether the good
seed or the thorns have prevailed.

92 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

It is not only the possession of
wealth that chokes the word. The
pursuit of it, whether successful or
futile; the desire of it, whether grati-
fied or disappointed; the thought of
its desirableness and of what it would
procure, constantly occupying the mind ;
the envy and jealousy excited towards
the more prosperous ; all that is com-
prehended in "the love of money,"
has a tendency to prevent the influ-
ence of divine knowledge on the heart.
Examine yourself whether, if not the
actual obtaining of property, yet your
thoughts, hopes and cares about pro-
perty, have not prevented the growth
of holy affections, and made you "car-
nally-minded." This scrutiny is the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 93

more important for the intimation
thrown out in our Lord's phrase in the
parable — "the deceiifidness of riches."
They deceive in a thousand ways —
by tempting under false appearances,
by concealing sin under specious names,
by licensing indulgences once condemn-
ed— but they are deceitful in no way
more injurious to the soul, than in the
promises men make to themselves, and
the vows they make to God, before
they are rich. You thought howT well
you would spend your money if ever
gained; what a good influence would
flow from your higher position; what
a faithful steward you would be. Has
the result been wThat you intended ?
Or has the increase of the blessing

94 THE SOWER AXD THE SEED.

stifled your good intentions and led
you into new classes of offences?
Have not your temporal pursuits been
constantly thwarting }^our religious pur-
suits?

There is one more antitype of the
word-choking thorns. The divine Teach-
er named it "the pleasures of this
life," or "the lusts of other things."

It should not escape our notice that
none of these particulars refer to
things absolutely wrong. " The care
of this world" comprises the common
and unavoidable subjects of every
person's duty. " Riches" are a peril,
they are " deceitful," but so is poverty,
and neither is in itself a sin. And so
"the pleasures of this life" are not all

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 95

sinful; nor are the "lusts of other
things" always unjust or unholy de-
sires. They are but other phrases for
the common influence of " this life,"
"this world." This life has its plea-
sures. God has provided them. This
world has its " other things" than the
word which rightly claim our regard.
But the "pleasures" and the "other
things" have their proper place. It is
their intrusion, out of that place, that
produces the mischief. It is their
crowding upon the better things, and
displacing them, that makes them evil.
It is the disproportionate consequence
they assume that makes them danger-
ous. It is when the weeds become so
rank as to choke the good seed, that

96 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

they require extermination, if no othe
means can correct them, and keep them
in their place.

Now look around, look within, and
see if there be any mystery in this.
You have heard the word : you have
been convinced by it : you have found
on its side every conclusion of reason,
every remonstrance of conscience, every
persuasion of what was best for you,
in all possible respects, for the present
and the future : you thought you would
go forth, perhaps you positively resolv-
ed that you would, and obey that word.
But when you went forth from the
hearing of this heavenly message, am-
bassadors of another description met
you. They were the representatives

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 97

of "this life" only, the devotees of
" this world " exclusively. They said,
"come with us and we will lead you
into the pleasantest path ; it is broad,
fair and full of life : no sombre shades
fall upon it; no spectres from the world
beyond the grave haunt it : it is all in-
nocent, too : it is only to live as the
rest of the world do : there is no harm
in pleasure." And so you went to
their occupations and amusements, still
reserving a little space, a corner here
and there, in your daily, or at least
weekly routine, for better things — for
a chapter, a prayer, a public service —
but the predominant feature of your life
w7as pleasure — the enjoyments and pur-
suits wdiich begin and end with the

98 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

present world. And how fared the
good seed ? Ah ! it was dwindling all
this time. Prayer was crowded ont
by this engagement, or postponed for
that, or abridged by a third. The pleas-
ant book superseded the useful. In-
clination controlled duty. What was
agreeable, what made the variety — the
"other things" — of life, these decided
every choice ; with now and then a re-
luctant sacrifice of preference through
a superstitious, rather than religious
fear, lest you should go too far, or too
rapidly, with the world.

"When you think over this course
and its effect, what figure in the whole
range of nature, would better set it
forth than the thorns strangling the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 99

seed as it begins to grow, so that it is
made unfruitful, or brings no fruit to
perfection ? There was always a pro-
mise, a sign, a beginning of good, but
ahvays, too, another kind of influence
going on at the same time, and as must
be the case in such close connections
of the good and the evil, the evil be-
coming the stronger.

This illustration of the Teacher sent
from God, gives one of the best stand-
ards for judging the true quality of the
wwld's customs and amusements, about
wThich curious questions are often pro-
pounded as to their lawfulness, or the
contrary. The point is generally to be
determined, not so much by the name
and description of the thing itself, or by

100 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

any settled uniformity of its influences,
as by the effect it actually produces in
a given instance. Does it hinder good
impressions? Does it promote holy
dispositions ? Does it interfere with
devotion ? Does it divert and bewil-
der the mind ? Does it make sacred
things less attractive, less effective ?
Does it help, or does it hinder the
struggles of the soul for communion with
God, and for the holiness without
which no one can see God ? Does re-
ligious principle maintain its vitality
and activity in spite of the wTorldly
compliance? Do the spiritual affec-
tions and appetites enlarge even wmilst
the lusts of other things are entering
in? Do the tares hurt the wheat?

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 101

1 am making no accusation. I am
only repeating what the Lord Jesus
Christ has declared will be found in the
history of his kingdom, and among his
own disciples as well as others, as
causes of hindering his own word, and
ask you to judge whether in your own
experience there is any counterpart to
these various representations. It may
be that you do not easily perceive to
which of the three classes of hindran-
ces your own case may be most prop-
erly referred. You may see something
in each one of these mirrors that
reflects your spiritual image; in each
of these portraits you may detect the
likeness of particular features. Turn
not away from the discovery. Your

102 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

salvation may be identified with your
turning it, through the divine blessing,
to this practical use. The possession
of the means of grace involves a result
corresponding with the use that is made
of them. " For the earth which drinketh
in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by
wThom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
from God; but that which beareth
thorns and briers is rejected, and is
nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be
burned." (Hebrews vi.)

T221 FAWiAMlM

SEED ON GOOD GROUND.

(103 )

CHAPTER V.

"He that received the seed into the good ground is
he that heareth the word, and understandeth

IT J WHICH ALSO BEARETH FRUIT." (MattJieiO.) " SUCH
AS HEAR THE WORD, AND RECEIVE IT, AND BRING FORTH

fruit." {Mark.) " They which in an honest and

GOOD HEART, HAVING HEARD THE WORD, KEEP IT, AND
BRING FORTH FRUIT WITH PATIENCE." (Luke.)

When those who profit by the word
of the gospel are compared to good
ground, as contrasted with the bad
soils previously described, and are
characterized as having "an honest
and good heart," it is not signified

(105)

106 THE SOWER AXD THE SEED.

that there is such- a difference as that
in the original, natural, condition of
the respective classes, so that it is
only the good who are profited by the
word. In this sense, "there is none
good; no not one." The three unfavour-
able soils represented, not so many
natures, but certain varieties of ob-
stacles lying in the persons themselves,
produced by their own fault. The
good ground, being presented as the
reverse of the other kinds, is there-
fore, to be understood as exhibiting,
not a nature predisposed to goodness,
but a state of mind which, conscious
of its need of radical improvement, is
willing to receive and employ the
means established by divine authority

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 107

for that end. According to the terms
of the contrast, the good ground stands
for the person who gives a sincere and
faithful attention to the holy truth;
guards against what is known to be
prejudicial to it; watches against the
temptations that would counteract a
good impression ; is not moved by the
opposition, or other causes of offence,
that would make one ashamed or afraid
to follow his convictions; allows not
the cares, or pleasures, or riches of the
world to divert and fill his mind with
other incongruous things ; but, on the
contrary, does everything to encour-
age the good effect of the heavenly
instruction. The phrase, therefore, does
not describe the better heart, the heart

108 THE SOWER AM) THE SEED.

to which everything in religion is
easy and attractive ; the heart enjoy-
ing some high and special privileges
arbitrarily bestowed upon it and set-
ing it above ordinary circumstances
and trials; but the "honest" heart,
that desires to know and do what is
right, that is open to conviction, that
is willing to be taught, that is not
afraid to encounter the consequence of
a faithful conformity to known duty.
Such an one heareth the word and
understandeth it. He receives it in
an honest and good heart. Having
heard the word, he keeps it. He
brings forth fruit with patience.

Do you really wish to know how
you may use profitably the advantages

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 109

3rou possess in having the word of the
kingdom?

Begin by laying to heart the three-
fold admonitions which the Lord of the
kingdom has already given in appri-
sing you of the chief hindrances that
are in your way. If you have found
that there is that one thing, or those
several things, on which you can lay
your finger and say, It is this which, in
spite of all my convictions, keeps me
from being a Christian, or from being
a more consistent Christian, than I am,
then it is in vain you continue to
receive more and more of the word,
while the very obstacle remains which
has kept the word unprofitable to this

time. The question must come to this
10

110 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

point — which will you give up ? You
cannot retain both. The parable of the
wheat and the tares being suffered to
grow together, does not refer to the
existence of the good seed and the
weeds in the same heart at the same
time, but to the living together of the
good and the evil in the word, or
the church, till the time for eternal
separation. The one is possible ; the
other is not. Two persons may be in
the same place at once who serve dif-
ferent masters, but no man can at the
same time, serve two such masters as
God and Mammon. Our Lord's own
language has shown us what are the
principal resistants to the power of
grace; — "this world," "this life," the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. Ill

objects, the delights of the present
existence. It is the flesh against the
spirit. It is the carnal mind against
the spiritual mind. It is not merely
the present life against the future life, .
time against eternity, earth against
heaven, — but it is the divine realities
now existing, now real, now claiming
our supreme and constant regard, that
are put aside for ignoble rivals. This
world — this life — are now thrusting
themselves into the place of God. The
results reach indeed to eternity, they
affect the question of heaven and hell,
but it is a present sin and loss that is
meant when it is said that the love of
the world is incompatible with the
love of God ; and that friendship with

112 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

the world, in this sense, is enmity
with God, " for all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life is not
of the Father, but is of the world."
Some shake off the application of such
statements by thinking they mean
world liness in the sense of gay pleas-
ure, or the indulgences which it re-
quires wealth to obtain. But whilst
these are included, they are far from
exhausting the catalogue. Forgetting
others, ask yourself what is your own
position as to " this life." What place
has " this world" in your plans, works,
hopes? What power have the things
of last week and next week, the things
you suspend on the Lord's day to run

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 113

to church and to be resumed on Mon-
day— what amount of power have they
over your heart? How much room do
they occupy ? You may be poor as
Lazarus, yet "this life" may be your
idol. Every idol must be put out of
the way, if the doctrines of God's
word are to take effect. Is the sacri-
fice too great? Then make up your
mind to take the consequence.

Another point is implied in the lan-
guage of "keeping" the word, when it
has once been heard. Having got the
possession which comes by receiving
the knowledge of the word, it is essen-
tial to the end of receiving it, that it
be retained. As the seed must main-
tain its hold in the soil after it has

114 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

been deposited there, so knowledge
must keep the place it has gained in
order to produce its permanent result
The student will be disappointed who
only reads and hears, and does not
establish his acquirements in his mem-
ory. The christian will have no reason
to expect progress in piety who only
skims the pages of the Bible. To keep
the word, does not, in this connection,
mean obeying it ; though that is a
consequence of such keeping. It means,
here, what we call the safe keeping,
the treasuring, of what is valuable. It
is the remembering, pondering, revolv-
ing that which inspires our faith and
regulates our conduct. Even to his
dearly beloved son in the faith did the

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 115

Apostle say, "hold fast the form of
sound words which thou hast heard of
me." (2 Timothy i.) If you would be
effectually benefited by what you re-
ceive, you must take some pains to
hold it. You must cease trifling with
the messages of God. You must no
longer dishonour them by putting them
on a level with your every-day read-
ing and hearing of common things.
You must look that what has been im-
parted to you is safe ; safe when you
go where you know it is most exposed ;
safe when scepticism would steal it, or
the pursuits of the world crowd it out;
or the persecutions of the world tor-
ture it from you ; or your own indif-
ference cause you to forget that you

116 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

ever possessed it. The keeping of the
good and honest heart is the custody
which a good and honest trustee takes
of what is put into his hands for a
profitable use. This is your steward-
ship. The Lord, the divine proprietor,
will reckon with you; and whether
your talents have been one, or five, or
ten, he will inquire not simply whether
you have kept what was committed to
you, but whether you kept it for the
use contemplated. No course is hon-
est that does not hold this responsibil-
ity in view. The proof of the honesty
lies in the result. " Having heard the
word, they keep it, and bring forth
fruit with patience." The practical
evidence of the power of the word is

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 117

the patient production of its proper
fruit. It must " increase" as well as
" spring up/' and this increase, though
not the same in all individuals, is yet
always certain in the view of him who
is emphatically " the Lord of the har-
vest"— "some thirty, and some sixty,
and some an hundred."

What is the fruit of the word — the
fruit of the truth — the fruit of the
Bible? It is an expression for the
proper effects of the knowledge of
this divine doctrine when faithfully
received. The fruit of education in
school, of training in a profession, of
apprenticeship to a trade — the fruit of
reading, of study, of application is
understood to be that result which

118 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

answers to the nature and object of
what was received in the several in-
stances. It is never thought in these
cases that the end is gained because
the process is over. In each case it is
the sowing of seed — sowing in order
to fruit. But the idea of religion held
by some seems not to extend be}rond
the receiving of the truth. They ap-
pear to regard Christianity as consist-
ing wholly in believing the Bible.
Their religion consists in reading the
Bible, and in attendance upon religious
services — following the routine of re-
ceiving the word. But this is all
sowing — all seed-time. The fruit of
the word is what the Scriptures so
expressively call the doing of the word.

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 119

u Whosoever heareth these sayings of
mine and doeth them." " Every one
that heareth these sayings of mine and
doeth them not." (Matt, vii.) "Be
ye doers of the word, and not hear-
ers only, deceiving your ownselves."
(James i.) If the word says "love
your enemies : do good to all men ;
pray without ceasing; if any man will
come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow
me" — it is not the reading, receiving
and believing of this that is the fruit;
but the fruit is seen, and only then,
when the reader, receiver and believer
loves his enemy; when he does the
actual good ; when he cherishes the
spirit and often performs the acts of

120 THE SOWER AKD THE SEED.

prayer and praise; when he refrains
from this thing that he knows to be
injurious to his piet}~, and does that
which is contrary to his natural dis-
position, and so mortifies the fleshly
mind. This is fruit: this is the spring-
ing and increasing of Bible-seed : this
is more than the reading and the
church-going; this is the rendering of
the heart according to what it has
received.

The fruitfulness of nature is steady
in its progress. " First the blade, then
the ear, then the full corn in the ear."
And the fruitfulness of the word is
not an occasional outbreak of goodness,
soon subsiding ; a flaming forth of zeal,
soon to die out; one fruitful season

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 121

and then coldness and sterility. Our

Lord characterizes Christian fruitful-

ness by patience : " they bring forth

fruit with patience." This must mean

an unwearied perseverance in the works

of religion. The practical believer is

not worn out by a little labour, or

discouraged by a few disappointments.

Godliness is his life. The good works

of faith and holiness are his habit.

The glory of the Father, of the Son,

and of the Holy Ghost, is his chief

end. It is enough for the earth to be

annual in its harvests. They are the

results of annual labour. But the truth

of God, and the rational soul of the

creature, are in perpetual life, and in

perpetual capacity of imparting and
11

122 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

receiving influence, and working it out.
The human character is not a tempor-
ary, or periodical matter. The inquisi-
tion for its moral standing is always
going on. It cannot meet its responsi-
bilities by occasional parades of good
appearances. Those who seek in the
right way for glory and honour and
immortality, do it "by patient con-
tinuance in wTell doing." (Rom. ii.)
Even "the husbandman" who "wait-
eth for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, until
he receive the early and latter rain,"
(James v.) does not intermit all labour
and watchfulness, because the seed is
in its place. How much more necessary
is such continuance w7hen the growth

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 123

is dependent on no natural means !
They were Jews who believed on him,
to whom Christ said, " if ye continue in
my word, then are ye my disciples
indeed." (John viii.) They were prose-
lytes to Christianity whom Paul and
Barnabas persuaded to continue in the
grace of God. (Acts xiii.) This con-
tinuance is often made the condition
of a promised blessing: "If ye con-
tinue in the faith grounded and set-
tled" (Col. i.) "If they continue in
faith, and charity, and holiness, with
sobriety." (1 Tim. ii.) It was because
Israel continued not in the covenant,
that the Lord forsook them. (Ileb.
viii.) It is against the unsteady, unper-
severing Christian, that the expostula-

124 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

tion is aimed, "ye did run well; who
did hinder you that ye should not obey
the truth?" (Gal. v.) Many may trace
their want of improvement under the
means of grace, to this simple cause.
They had not patience under the divine
methods of preparing and cultivating
their hearts. They would not " hope
and quietly wait for the salvation of
the Lord," (Lam. ih\) in the humble,
penitent course of duty. They would
not try that test, "if any man will do
his will he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God." (John vii.)
They wait and hope for some other
mode of assurance, than just the simple,
reasonable way of doing what is direct-
ed and continuing to do it. In all

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 125

applications the exhortation is suitable,
u be not weary in well doing."

The last mark of the good ground is
the abundance of the fruit. It is not
scanty — it is many-fold. The least
in the parable is thirty-fold. An hun-
dred-fold is implied as not too much to
be expected. All do not attain the
maximum : but all make advance upon
their first condition. All have some-
thing to show for what they have
received. No allowance was made for
the character, in another parable, who
laid up his master's money and buried
it and restored it undiminished. He
was denounced as an unprofitable ser-
vant. (Matt. xxv. 30.) The condemn-
ation is not — You have not produced

126 THE SOWER AND THE SEED.

an hundred-fold and are therefore
accounted as having done nothing;
but the test is, Are your progress and
your work according to your opportu-
nities ? Is it only thirty, when it might
have been sixty, or only sixty when
it might have been an hundred ? Have
you the maturity of piety, the fullness
of graces, the completeness of character,
which may be justly expected of you,
considering what, and how long con-
tinued, have been your advantages ?
Have you done — are you doing — ac-
cording to your "several ability?"
The fruit of the seed is the effect of
the blessing of the Holy Ghost on the
proper use of the word. Take those
fruits according to the enumeration of

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. 127

them in the Scripture itself, and judge
of your " love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance;" (Gal. v.) or as elsewhere
comprehended under the three heads
of goodness, righteousness, and truth;
(Eph. v.) or as described in another
place, "filled with the knowledge of"
the divine "will in all wisdom, and
spiritual understanding, that ye might
walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work, and increasing in the knowledge
of God ; strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, unto
all patience and long-suffering, with
joy fulness." (Col. i.)

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